The Smartest Dividend Stocks to Buy With $2,000 Right Now
Key Points
AbbVie is a Dividend King poised to deliver solid growth.
Chevron is well-positioned to capitalize on the new opportunities in Venezuela.
Enbridge offers stability and an especially juicy dividend yield.
This year is turning out to be a chaotic one so far. The U.S. has caused a leadership change in Venezuela. Iran is blockading (at least partially) the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices are soaring. Uncertainty reigns over the stock market.
Such an environment is one where dividend stocks become increasingly attractive to many investors. Here are my picks for the smartest dividend stocks to buy with $2,000 right now.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
1. AbbVie
AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) markets blockbuster drugs for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and neuroscience, among others. Do you think physicians will stop prescribing these therapies, and that patients will stop taking them, because of global uncertainty? Me either. Sure, AbbVie's share price can sometimes decline due to overall market volatility. However, the drugmaker's business is rock-solid.
The reality is that AbbVie has already successfully faced the biggest challenge in its history. I'm referring to the patent cliff with the loss of patent exclusivity for its longtime best-selling product, Humira. Today, though, AbbVie is poised to deliver strong growth for years to come.
Autoimmune disease therapies Rinvoq and Skyrizi have taken the torch from Humira and run with it. These two drugs are already raking in annual sales higher than Humira's at its peak. AbbVie also has other rising stars, along with a promising pipeline, with around 60 programs in mid- and late-stage clinical testing.
The company is a member of the Dividend Kings, an elite group of stocks that have increased their dividends for at least 50 consecutive years. Income investors should also like AbbVie's forward dividend yield of 3.3%.
2. Chevron
It's not surprising that energy stocks are performing exceptionally well with surging oil prices. Some, though, are better positioned for continued success beyond the current crisis than others. I think Chevron (NYSE: CVX) will be among the long-term winners.
Chevron ranks among the largest fully integrated oil and gas companies. Its upstream business generates the highest margins in the industry. It produces more natural gas than any rival. The company also has strong downstream operations and is investing in renewable energy and carbon capture technologies.
Even before the Iran crisis and the U.S. intervention in Venezuela, Chevron forecast averaged annual adjusted free cash flow and earnings-per-share growth of over 10%. Its long history in Venezuela could pave the way for increased production in the country, boosting its growth prospects.
Chevron has increased its payout for 39 consecutive years. Its forward dividend yield is roughly 3.6%. The company could still cover the dividend and fully fund all of its capital investments if the price of oil fell from its current level of over $100 per barrel to below $50 per barrel.
3. Enbridge
Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) is also an energy stock, but its business model is much different than Chevron's. The company operates the world's longest crude oil pipeline network. It transports 30% of the crude oil produced in North America. Enbridge's natural gas pipelines transport roughly one-fifth of the natural gas consumed in the U.S.
Midstream energy companies are largely insulated from oil and gas price volatility. Enbridge offers even greater stability than most midstream companies because it's also the largest natural gas utility in North America by volume, serving around 7.1 million customers.
This isn't just a defensive stock, though. Enbridge has identified roughly $50 billion of growth opportunities through 2030. It's evaluating near-term growth opportunities of more than $26 billion. The rapid build-out of data centers to host artificial intelligence (AI) applications is one key growth driver for the company.
Enbridge offers an especially juicy dividend yield of 5.3%. Even better, the company has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years. I don't expect this impressive streak to be broken anytime soon.
Should you buy stock in Enbridge right now?
Before you buy stock in Enbridge, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Enbridge wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $510,710!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,105,949!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 927% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 186% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 20, 2026.
Keith Speights has positions in AbbVie, Chevron, and Enbridge. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie, Chevron, and Enbridge. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
